November 26, 2023             Text:  1 Corinthians 15:20-28

Dear Friends in Christ,

The concentration camp at Dachau was liberated on a Sunday in April 1945.  One week later, Greek and Serbian Orthodox prisoners celebrated Easter in the camp barracks.  Priests wore makeshift vestments over their blue and white striped prison uniforms.  They sang the liturgy, read the Scriptures, and even recited a sermon by St. John Chrysostom – all without texts, all by memory.  During the long years of suffering and anguish, these prisoners had never forgotten Christ’s resurrection victory over death and that it also set them free from death.  Whatever was happening in their lives, they always knew that Easter meant something was still coming for them.  Today, a Russian Orthodox chapel at the Dachau Memorial houses an icon of the resurrected Christ leading the prisoners out of the camp gates.  

Every Sunday is a celebration of Easter, of Christ’s glorious victory over sin and death for us.  But today, the Last Sunday of the Church YearI, is especially so, because the Last Sunday, pointing us to the Last Day, shows us where Easter is headed.  What do I mean?

“WHERE IS EASTER HEADED?”

Easter brought forth the firstfruits.  Jesus raised to life again.  Yes, Jesus died on the cross, but his resurrection is an accomplished fact.  What good news.  But where is it headed?  In the Old Testament Israel would offer the first gathering of wheat as a sacrifice to God.  Still, they knew an entire harvest was still to come.  The firstfruits were just the first of many fruits.

In the same way, Jesus’ resurrection will inevitably lead to the resurrection of all flesh.  “In Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (v. 22). That’s Last Day, Judgment Day, the focus of this Sunday.  All people will be gathered before Christ, the believers through Christ will have bodies raised, reunited with their souls, the resurrection of all flesh.  What a day that will be for those, Paul says, “who belong to Christ.”

Christ was one of us.  Walked in the way of human beings.  The ancient Greek writer Callimachus once composed an epigram in which he commented:  “Being a thief myself, I know the tracks of a thief.”  Being a man himself, Jesus knew the tracks of a man.  He knew work and rest.  He experienced joys and sorrows.  He understood that we humans have a problem with sin, and we can’t solve it.  He knew sin would destroy humanity.  So, He took the destruction on Himself.  He knew the tracks of man led to death, and Jesus did, in fact, die.  But being the Son of God, His tracks did not end in death, but rather out of the tomb to life again.  He was raised up, and all those who belong to Him will also walk in tracks leading to eternal life.  

Our resurrection to life will mean that death and all its allies are destroyed under Jesus’ feet.  Death couldn’t hold Christ.  Death cannot hold us.  If death has no power, then on the Last Day, all enemies will be defeated.

Christ has defeated sin.  Christ has defeated the devil and his demonic forces.  The evil forces of the world are no more with the return of Jesus.  We have nothing to fear.

But some do.  Judgment will be horrible for those on the outside of the faith.  An eternal fire prepared for Christ’s enemies.  Their deeds will not save them.  Their accomplishments mean nothing.  They stand condemned.

For those of us belonging to Christ, death is defeated.  Death is the last fruits of sin.  Christ, the firstfruits of life, changes the end of the story.  Is that where this is headed?  Almost.

Finally, even Christ will be subjected to the Father.  For Christ, the mission will be accomplished.  Every need of God’s people in a fallen world met.  Every enemy conquered.  Christ will lay it all at His Father’s feet.  Then things will once again be like they were at the beginning.  God will be “all in all.”  Will we need food, clothing, shelter?  No, we will have God.  Will we need love, comfort, relationships?  No, we will have God.  Will we need protection and deliverance?  No, we will have God.  Verse 24, “Then comes the end, when (Christ) delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.”  

This is where Easter has been headed.  On this Last Sunday of the Church Year, a blessed fulfillment of Easter to you!

Amen.    

November 22, 2023 – Thanksgiving Eve         Text:  John 1:1-5

Dear Friends in Christ,

Well, here we are on a not liturgically required holiday.  Some would say this service is non-essential.  Some denominations don’t worship on Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Eve or they may participate in joint worship led by members of the local clergy association.  

The holiday was initiated by Abraham Lincoln during the dark days of the Civil War, so the day has this religious significance:  God is worthy of thanks even in bad times.  Every LCMS church I have ever been associated with has had a Thanksgiving Day or Thanksgiving Eve Worship service.  But we still ask the question . . .

“THANKSGIVING DAY CHURCH SERVICES:  ARE THEY REALLY NECESSARY?”

For the sake of religious freedom, the Pilgrims fled England first for Holland and then for American with a brief stopover back in England.  They landed on Cape Cod in 1620, and the following years the survivors of the brutal winter had a feast with the Native Americans to give thanks to God.  Here are the roots of our national holiday.

In the Old Testament, certain days were set apart for thanking God.  In the New Testament the word eucharist, a word sometimes used for the service of Holy Communion, means “thanksgiving” and specifically thanksgiving to God.  Do you realize how many times we “give thanks to God?”  Look at our liturgy.  At the end of a Scripture reading the elder or Pastor says, “This is the Word of the Lord.”  We Lutherans know the automatic response, “Thanks be to God.”  Let’s try another one, Pastor says, “Bless we the Lord.”  Congregation responds, “Thanks be to God.”  Thanking God is part of our religious fiber.  Crazy right, but thanking God comes close to believing in Him!

Just because people may gather around a table and give thanks for something doesn’t make it a religious awakening.  We should be thanking the Giver not the gift.  Calling it “turkey Day” or “parade/football day” takes God out of the equation.  Even though He might like a huge blown-up Woody Woodpecker or tossing the pigskin in Detroit.  So, while a parade or football might keep people from worship, at least Santa Claus is at the end of the parade.  It makes a good transition into a season named for Christ, where many don’t want to speak His name in public celebrations.

Thanksgiving Day is more than a First Article matter.  We just don’t speak of God in generic terms.  We address Him as the Father of our Lord Jesus.  Look at our text, “All things were made through him – Jesus.” (v. 3.)  In our Epistle lesson it says this about Jesus.  “’I am the Alpha and the Omega ,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”

The Pilgrims left England because King James I was telling them how to conduct their worship services.  Planning to sail to Virginia they ended up on the uninviting New England coast.  Within a year, half the Pilgrims had died.  If you have ever seen replicas of the Mayflower, one wonders how many times it might have crossed their minds that the religion of the king wasn’t all that bad.

Government has loosened the chains, but we were told how to worship during 2020.  People tell the Pilgrims of the day to get it line with same sex marriage, cancel culture, wokeism and why would you ever worship that God?

Are Thanksgiving services necessary?  Should we associate ourselves with the Pilgrims?  Well, let’s take a look at our own story of the Missouri Synod.  The Lutherans in Saxony and Prussia fled their countries to avoid religious persecution.  Refugees from the Saxon State Church came in five ships, only four made it to the port of New Orleans – one was lost at sea.  These Lutherans even prepared a document like the Mayflower Compact, which provided rules for their community in this adopted country.  Things did not go well in Missouri.  Some wanted to go back to Germany, just like some Pilgrims who returned to England.  Most stayed and found other Lutherans in American who believed like they did.  These are the forefathers and families who established the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

We give thanks to our Lord for bringing them to our shores.  We are a Christ-believing, Bible-believing, Confession-believing people because of what they did to get to America to establish the LCMS.  This is why we lift up our praise this day.  We have the freedom to say that Christ has paid the price for our terrible deeds.  We have the freedom to say that Christ has won our salvation as He overcame death and grave.  We have the freedom to say that as baptized men and women we are the children of God.  Thanks be to God!

Compare the Missouri Synod story to the Pilgrim story.  Change the language from English to German, add a few more ships and push the calendar ahead two centuries, and one story starts to resemble the other.  The characters have different names, lived at different times, and came from different places, but the plots are quite similar – they were fleeing religious persecution.  Persecution belongs to the Christian experience.  Read the Book of Acts.  Why then would Lutherans in America not celebrate Thanksgiving Day services?

Amen.   

November 19, 2023         Text:  Matthew 25:14-30

Dear Friends in Christ,

How about the Powerball numbers we have been seeing?  A single winner took home, after taxes of course, $2.1 billion last year.  Do you ever fantasize about what you might do if you won Powerball or even the state lottery?  After last week’s sermon, you know what Toni and I would do!

Imagine how the slaves in Jesus’ parable must have felt.  The master entrusted each of them with a fortune and left it to them to decide what to do with it.  Dreaming about such things might help pass a few minutes, but what does it do as we live our lives today?  This is really what the parable is about.  You are about to be given something, what are you going to do with it?  You need to realize that . . . 

“THE CHIEF PROPERTY IS THE GOSPEL”

Some parables of Jesus can be a little hard to understand, but not this one.  A simple story with a clear message.  

This parable is usually called “The Parable of the Talents.”  We equate talent with a gift we have.  Talent in biblical times is a monetary unit.  Three servants are given sizable amounts of money.  The master gives no instruction in its use.  He goes away.  Two of the servants make more money and are commended.  One digs a hole and does nothing with the money.  He was afraid.  Afraid of losing it.  Afraid of his master.

Quite often with this sermon the preacher will talk about using our skills, our abilities etc. in a God-pleasing way.  But that is not the point here.  You see, God gives those kinds of gifts to everyone, believers and unbelievers alike.  This text is about how we use the special treasure God has given alone to his servants, the Church, for the building of His kingdom.  The most valuable gift that God entrusts to us is the message of the Gospel.  

We have a greater treasure than a lifetime of wealth.  If you and I won millions of dollars, could we even get it all spent?  The Gospel on the other hand can always be shared.  There are always going to be those apart from Christ who need to hear the message.  We never run out of opportunities.  We never tire of hearing the Gospel message.

Christ died on the cross and paid for the sins of the whole world, mine and yours.  Christ rose from the grave, and you too will rise to eternity.  You have been given the riches of the Gospel through the work of the Holy Spirit in your lives.  God’s riches are yours today and forever.  Each day you awaken to a new life in Jesus.  You have a conscience freed from the burden of guilt.  You know that because of your Baptism, each day you are caressed by the love of your Savior.

So, if the chief property is the Gospel how will we respond and use it for God’s glory?  “Hide it under a bushel no, I’m gonna let it shine.”  We don’t dig a hole and protect the gospel.  We take God’s Word and invite others to worship.  We take God’s Word and help the less fortunate.  We take God’s Word and give encouragement to a hurting friend.  We take God’s Word and pray for a co-worker suffering with a disease.  We take God’s Word and offer childcare or a ride or we offer a ministry of presence for those who are lonely.  All of this allows the Gospel to grow.  The Church becomes larger as the love of Christ permeates from our hearts.  

One of the most underrated statistics in sports is the assist.  In basketball, soccer, and hockey a good pass is just as important as making the score.  As a former point guard and even now when I play pick-up games, I get a bigger thrill out of a good pass that leads to a basket rather than making the basket.  

We see this in our text.  The servants who returned more to the master were “assisting” him.  You and I are fellow servants who assist one another.  We give and receive help from our brothers and sisters all the time.  Isn’t it beautiful to be in a congregation of servants who encourage one another and hold one another accountable – who assist one another – so that together, we might remain faithful and, when Jesus returns, enter together into the Master’s joy.

God has promised to bless our work.  The fruit is the lives of those saved by the proclamation of the saving love of Jesus Christ.  The chief property is the Gospel – share it.

Amen.